Back-to-back Rugby World Cup Sevens champions and Commonwealth Games Gold medallists the Black Ferns Sevens and the All Blacks Sevens, and the world number one ranked All Blacks, are nominated for the adidas New Zealand team of the year while the Crusaders, Auckland and Thames Valley are shortlisted for a new adidas National team of the year award at the ASB Rugby Awards on December 13.
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How will it play out when the 2016 champion meets the 2017 champion in the Premiership final of the Farah Palmer Cup?
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About The Farah Palmer Cup

In 2016, the Women’s Provincial Championship was renamed the Farah Palmer Cup in recognition of one of the most iconic figures in women’s rugby.

With the support of Mitre 10, the Farah Palmer Cup will kick off on 1 September and feature 12 teams from across the country. The competition will span six rounds and include semi-finals on Saturday 13 October and conclude with a final on Saturday 20 October.

Farah Palmer is a global women’s rugby icon, having played 35 Test matches for the Black Ferns and represented Otago, Waikato and Manawatu at provincial level. In 2014, Palmer was inducted to the World Rugby Hall of Fame.

She said it was a huge privilege to have the women’s provincial championship named after her: “It’s very humbling to have the competition named in my honour. I had to have a real think about accepting it because rugby is a team sport and there are lots of women and men who have gone before me that really helped women’s rugby develop. But then I thought it is a great honour and I am happy to be acknowledged this way.”

The inaugural Women's National Provincial Championship was contested in 1999, with 14 teams taking part originally.

In 2000 the number of teams increased to 18. The Championship was contested across divisions - originally a first division and regional divisions, which evolved into two divisions, and continued in this format until 2005. Throughout this time the WPC was played under different guises - the Women's National Provincial Championship, the Lion Foundation Cup, the Women's Championship, and the Women's Competition.